NVM

NVM means “never mind.” It tells the other person to ignore what you just said, usually because the question answered itself or stopped mattering.

What NVM means

The classic nvm comes thirty seconds after a question: “where’s the charger?” … “nvm found it.” It cancels your own message so nobody wastes time on it. People also use it to drop a subject they’ve decided isn’t worth explaining.

That second use is where it can sting. If someone asks “what?” and you reply “nvm,” it can come across as “forget it, you wouldn’t get it.” When that’s not what you mean, a quick “nvm, not important!” keeps it friendly.

Examples

• “What time is the game? nvm, just saw the post.”
• “Can you grab milk? Actually nvm, I’ll go.”
• “Nvm, it’s a long story. Tell you tomorrow.”

Where it comes from

The phrase is old. Merriam-Webster dates “never mind” to 1677. The abbreviation is a product of chat rooms and texting, though nobody has documented when it first appeared. Merriam-Webster notes the even shorter “nm,” but be careful with that one: in a lot of chats “nm” means “not much,” as in “wyd?” “nm, you?”

Never mind or nevermind?

If you write it out, Merriam-Webster recommends two words, “never mind,” for the everyday sense of “forget it.” The one-word “nevermind” is mostly a noun in phrases like “pay it no nevermind,” although it increasingly shows up in place of the two-word version.

Related terms

• IDK: I don’t know.
• IDC: I don’t care.
• LMK: let me know.

See more terms like this in our texting abbreviations guide.